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Ackeen Colley

Colley Breaks 800m School Record In Music City Challenge

| By: WIU Athletic Communications

Ackeen Colley broke his own school record to place fifth among some of the best runners in the SEC.

NASHVILLE, TENN.- Western Illinois track and field competed in its fourth indoor meet of the season this past weekend. The Leathernecks traveled to Nashville, Tenn., to compete in the Indoor Music City Challenge, hosted by Vanderbilt University. Full results from the Music City Challenge can be found here.
 
"It was a tough decision to pull the plug on our Iowa State trip and travel to Vanderbilt. In the end, it was the right move," said head coach Trey Brokaw. "No 800 runners hit NCAA qualifying (top-16) marks at Iowa State and four runners hit marks at Vanderbilt. It turned out to be the hottest 800 field in the country this weekend."
 
Ackeen Colley once again showed why he's among the best runners in the nation with his 800m performance in Nashville. Colley set a new personal record and school record in the 800m with a time of 1:48.22 to place fifth overall and first in his section.  
 
"Unfortunately, Ackeen was in the second section. He won his section easily. If he were able to run with those faster competitors in section one, I'm confident he would maybe be able to run 1:46 high," said Trey Brokaw. "I was really proud of how he competed though despite the seeding. If he qualifies for Nationals, he's got as good of shot as anyone to win it."
 
Lucas Hofer and Logan Lommel also had major highlights for Western Illinois. Hofer competed in the 600m and ended with a time of 1:20.36 to take fourth place. Lommel ran his first-ever 3000m and ran the third-fastest time in school history with a time of 8:24.55. He now sits at number three in school history in the 1000m, mile, and 3000m from his performances this season.
 
Maleigha Huston represented Western Illinois women's team in the mile, setting a new personal best of 5:03.65. Paulina Wuestefeld competed in the 5000m and set a new personal best with a time of 18:09.08.
 
"Maleigha Huston in the mile, Logan Lommel in the 3000, and Paulina Wuestefeld in the 5000 all had substantial personal best performances. For Logan it was his first 3k race ever and he nearly broke the school record," said Trey Brokaw.
 
"His time of 8:24.55 converts to an 8:58 two mile; to help put it in perspective that's sub-4:30 miles back-to-back. These three runner's development over the last six months has been very fun to watch. I think all three should be able to do very well at the Summit League Conference Championships in two weeks."
 
Western Illinois didn't just send athletes to Vanderbilt. They also sent athletes to participate in the Titan Open on Saturday (Feb. 12), hosted by Illinois Wesleyan. Full results can be found here.
 
WIU had the top two sprinters in the women's 60m dash, with Briza Dure placing first and Zwandi Harrison placing second. Dure took first place with a time of 7.93 seconds, and Harrison took second with a time of 7.97 seconds. The pair also placed top three in the 200m. Dure took second place in the event, and Harrison took third place.
 
Faith Procopio represented WIU in the mile event in Bloomington, taking second place with a new personal best time. Kristina Petrou also had a second place finish in the 800m, while Brinley Rodgers was a couple of spots back with a fourth place finish.
 
Tyronay Taylor had a great day jumping at the Titan Open, taking first place in the long jump (5.56m) and first place in the triple jump (11.32m). Jasmine Stokes took third place in the weight throw, finishing just .03m short of her personal best at 15.67m.
 
"Our group that traveled to Illinois Wesleyan performed quite well. Tyronay Taylor led the way winning the long jump and triple jump. It was a slow start to her indoor season but in our sport it's all about how you finish. She is coming on strong and seems to be finding a rhythm technically," said Trey Brokaw.
 
"Briza Duré and Zwandi Harrison went 1-2 in the 60. Zwandi has always had the physical ability but really seemed to race with a lot more confidence this weekend. Briza, who joined us as a mid-year transfer just a few months ago, is still getting used to indoor tracks. In her home country of Paraguay, it never gets cold enough to validate indoor races. With two weeks left until conference, these girls did a great job putting themselves in a position to score points for the team."
 
Kenyon'TA Skinner took third place in the 60m dash with a new personal best of 7.12 seconds for the men's team. Olin Ortiz took second place in the 3000m with a new personal best time.
 
Western Illinois will finish off the regular season next Saturday (Feb. 19) as they head back to Notre Dame to compete in the Alex Wilson Invitational.
 
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